Let's Blame Magic

Chapter Thirty

The dragon stretched its wings once it set foot on the enclosure; an ear-piercing roar was released from its mouth and its eyes fixated on Cedric as he stood ready with his wand in his hand. Ariella couldn’t see the small details in Cedric’s face, from what she saw he looked calm but she wouldn’t know unless she was there by his side.

   “That’s a Swedish Short Snout.” Ron leaned towards Ariella’s ear while his eyes remained on the anticipated action.

  Ron’s brother, Charlie, knows a great deal about dragons and went to Romania to study further. Ron explained earlier in the month, Charlie and a few others traveled with the dragons and prepared them for the tournament. Ariella was stunned yet amazed as she stared at the majestic creature; the exterior of the dragon was a dimmed sapphire blue with its stomach a Midas golden color. The nature of the dragon seemed gentle yet curious; its gruesome teeth overlapped its upper jaw as it turned its head towards Ariella. It seemed harmless expect for its teeth and the sharp horns on top of his nose.

  Everyone took notice of the slight steps Cedric took, trying not to draw attention to himself; the dragon did not seem to notice Cedric as it appeared to have a short attention span. The crowd held their breath as they watched Cedric slowly make his way towards the egg, the atmosphere was tense; they feared for the moment the dragon would lunged towards Cedric but the closer Cedric was to the egg, the more people believed it was in the bag for him. However, the moment when he was a step away from the egg, he extended his hand and suddenly, the dragon’s eyes narrowed and it charged towards Cedric. The Short Snout whipped its tail towards Cedric, he managed to dodge the blow but still managed to lightly skim his head, causing him to lose his balance and stumble back.

   “Oh, narrow miss there; very narrow!” Bagman commentated as he watched. Ariella could hear a faint murmur coming from Bagman but it was drowned by the sounds of Cedric’s fans gasping and cheering him on.

   “Alright, let’s start this with something they’ll remember.” Cedric shouted as a faint smirk appeared on his face.

  He wiped his chin with the back of his hand and crouched behind a boulder, hidden from the dragon’s gaze. There were signs to show that Cedric kept his senses on high alert to see where the dragon was so he could make a run for it; he crouched down and tried to move to a rock close to the egg.

   “He’s taking risks, this one!”

   “Will someone please shut that man up?” Ariella said annoyed for only Ron and Hermione to hear.

  Cedric hid behind a boulder that was a short distance from the egg but still a fair distance away from the Short Snout. He peered over his shoulder and met face to face with the Short Snout, it let out a fiery roar but Cedric already rolled over to the other side of the rock. Cedric pulled his body away from the rock and ran towards egg but the Short Snout turned its body and protected the egg as if it was its own. The two stared at each other as if they’ve embarked in a staring contest. Cedric clenched his wand in his hand and pointed it towards he Short Snout’s feet.

   “What do you think he’s going to do?” Ron asked Neville, Hermione and Ariella.

   “A simple levitation spell?” Ariella suggested.

   “Well, it is Cedric, who knows what he’ll do?” Hermione pointed out.

  As everyone watched Cedric’s every move, he waved his wand and chanted “Silicus Canis.” It was a spell Ariella was unfamiliar with; she watched as a rock in between the Short Snout transformed into a dog. The crowd cheered but there were some who had no idea what he was up to, Neville looked as if he was about to faint, knowing the dog was used as a distraction for the Short Snout.